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NM BDR Rendezvous

Joined
Sep 3, 2011
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Location
Austin
Of course green chile cheeseburgers were the order of the day in October, at least for me, and I had tasty examples in Capitan, San Antonio, and Silver City. Some would’ve no doubt said that they'd had the “best in the world” someplace else, and maybe they’d be right. But most all of them are good, since we were in southern New Mexico, where GCC’s are the national food this time of year, prominently featuring Hatch green chiles. It could be that some would argue, in vain, that the green enchiladas are what you go for. Au contraire.

We journeyed to NM to ride the Backcountry Discovery Route (NMBDR)…or at least the southern part of it, from Dell City TX to near Reserve NM. The BDR looks like the picture below, and our efforts this time focused on the area in the black oval. Instead of Reserve, we made a field change and went to the "ghost town" of Mogollon for our exit. As GS's are inclined to do, we had to negotiate a closed road to get back to civilization.

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Our plan began with five riders, but one couldn’t make it after all, then one more bailed just prior to kick-off. But we had a quorum of three in any case: Darrel (Da’Rell), Meryl (Mountain Man or Minutes), and me.

Day One: After an easy ride from Austin, we eventually joined I-10 SW of Iraan, and joyfully realized that both the West Texas wind and the 18-wheelers had taken Saturday off. We met D in Van Horn that evening, and he and I were lodged in the Knights Inn (a former motel), but Minutes couldn’t pass up the chance to camp at Weldon’s Welding, Retro Buggy Fabrication, Art Gallery, RV Park, Campground and Church. Dinner at Van Horn’s local steakhouse was pretty good, but breakfast Sunday morning at Margie’s Bakery was even better.

Day Two: About a 90 mile ride from Van Horn for the route’s official start, just west of El Capitan and on the northern edge of Dell City at “Pavement Ends”. From there we rode north, then east, then south, finally climbing the Guadalupe Ridge and turning back northward. The road ranged from graded gravel to sand to rough two-track, with the sand always getting our attention. Travel along the ridge eventually led to Pinon, then we took the pavement to Mayhill and were in the proper mountains, with the juniper and cedar having given way to pine and maple. At Mayhill we camped at a great little RV park, where we had a cool night.

Day Three: The route was Mayhill back to Weed, where we re-joined the BDR and traveled west via forest roads to the Sunspot Highway, along the pavement for a very short stint, then offroad again and north along the western slope of the mountains to Cloudcroft. From there, 244 to Ruidoso and my brother’s place near Nogal for the night. Good ride but relatively uneventful. Great views over White Sands from the forest roads, and 244 is always an enjoyable ride.

Day Four: Nogal-Carizozo-Malpais, followed by an offroad route alongside the Malpais, north from US 380 over ranchland and rugged canyons, west, then back to 380 at Bingham. Beautiful, easy ride. From Bingham the less-experienced riders prevailed and we took to the highway, rather than a sandy route near the WSMR, so we ended up at Elephant Butte State Park well before dark.

Day Five-Six: This was the pièce de résistance of the trip. Day Five included Chloride Canyon, roads into the Gila Wilderness, and camping at Snow Lake (28F when we got up the morning of Day Six). Chloride Canyon was rocky, beautiful, rough, and challenging in spots where the road and the rock-strewn creek bed became one, as well as the sharp, climbing turn out of the canyon. D and Mountain Man stopped and watched it for a long while before ascending. Snow Lake was beautiful, Meryl built a world-class campfire, and we had a good, but cold, night. Heavy frost on the bikes in the morning. Day Six meant more rough mountain roads, up and over the Continental Divide - despite recommendations to the contrary, we took a "closed" road back to civilization.

I’ve attached a few photos that show some of the sights. In the rougher parts, you don’t stop in the heat of battle for a photo op, so the signs and a little imagination will have to suffice.

El Capitan:
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Dell City and a sign that warms a GS-er’s heart:
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Status check just ahead of our turn NE toward the Guadalupes:
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Weed, NM:
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You’re riding on my road:
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West of Carrizozo:
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The national fruit of New Mexico:
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Winston General Store:
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BDR riders welcome:
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The lay of the land:
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Road through Chloride Canyon...or is it creek?
chloride%20creek-road_zpsyljppeg8.jpg


Mountain roads – caveat emptor:
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All in all, a great ride with still more exploration on the NMBDR to do.
 
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